“Mike Lockwood believed passionately in the power of the sport of swimming, and he was a Lions Member who devoted so much to the ethos of service which is such a significant part of the Lions Club. This Meet is a fitting memorial for a man who was such a large part of our community.”

Stingray Swim Club, Grand Cayman, 5 November 2012: The Pirates Week Mike Lockwood Memorial Swim Meet takes place next week, November 14th, 16-18th at the Lions Aquatic Centre and is hosted by the Stingray Swim Club.

This meet take place over four days, offers an array of events from the traditional sprints to the longer 100m, 200m and 400m events and it is the first meet of the season which affords swimmers, between the ages of 11-17 years the opportunity to make qualifying times in all of the possible events which will be part of the 2013 CARIFTA Swimming Competition.

Lion Albert Anderson, who is co-Meet Director with Derrick Westerborg said this about the upcoming meet: “Mike Lockwood was a Lions Member who embodied the ethos of service which is such a significant part of the Lions Club, and he also believed passionately in the power of the sport of swimming. Mike was also a great leader of the planning and execution of the annual Pirates Week festival and this Meet is a fitting memorial for a man who was such a large part of our community.”

Derrick Westerborg added: “Wednesday 16th will be the night for the two longest events, the 800m and 1500m events. There will be plenty to eat every evening except Wednesday – which is a short session. Boss Hogs will be catering on Friday and Sunday, with a BBQ (Friday), Breakfast items (Sunday); and the SSC concession stand will be open on Saturday 19th. We encourage everyone to come down, take in the racing action in the pool, buy something to eat and support our youth. These swimmers train year round, putting in hours of training every week while still keeping up with school – they deserve your support and we look forward to seeing you on deck.”

Registration closes at 5pm on Friday November 9th and there will be no late entries and no deck entries. Swimmers should either register online through their club or visit the Stingray website www.caymanswimming.com to print the forms, complete them and then drop them off in the box at the Stingray Shed at the Lions Pool.

Son of Lion Mike, Michael Lockwood, continues the family legacy of community involvement and is this year’s Vice-President of CIASA. “I still swim with the Masters Swimming programme at the Lions Pool,” he said. “My father was a strong believer in keeping children at the centre of our community and always encouraged sport clubs, especially swimming, to host specific events for them. CIASA continues to encourage this message by building up the learn to swim and development programmes to ensure that every child in the Cayman Islands knows how to swim so that they can make a choice to continue to the age group and elite levels.”

Admission to watch the meet is free; and four sessions means there are four opportunities for you to come out and support Cayman’s youth. Meet sessions are on Wednesday 14th from 5:30-6:30pm; Friday 16th from 5:30-8:30pm; Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th from 8:30am-12:30pm.